The Vinyl Institute (VI), today announced recipients of its annual health, safety, and environmental awards, which are given to companies in the vinyl industry for safeguarding workers and protecting the environment at manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. This year, VI recognized 36 facilities with 53 awards for outstanding performance.
These awards are based on facility performance according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable incidents, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), other regulatory permit performance, and the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory data for air and water during the 2020 calendar year.
“The safety of our workers and environmental practices of our facilities is our members’ top priorities,” said VI President and CEO Ned Monroe. “Worker health and safety continues to be a long-term commitment in our sustainability journey. We’re proud of the major investments our member companies have made and continue to make to ensure employee health and safety. They are leaders in finding additional ways to reduce emissions. In fact, since 1987, unit VCM emissions have decreased by 86 percent, while PVC resin production has increased by 91 percent.”
Each year, VI proudly recognizes facilities in the PVC, EDC/VCM, plasticizer production, additive production and chlorinated PVC compounding categories that have achieved outstanding performance in four categories: Safety Excellence, Safety Performance, Environmental Excellence and Environmental Honor.
Safety Excellence Award
This award recognizes consistent adherence to OSHA safety regulations and recognizes plants with five or more consecutive years with no recordable incidents. This award was presented to:

• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Compounding Plant, Point Comfort, Texas (10 consecutive years of performance)
• ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (9 consecutive years of performance)
• Shintech Louisiana, LLC, PVC Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana (8 consecutive years of performance)
• Teknor Apex Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Brownsville, Tennessee (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Compounding Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, Lake Charles South EDC-only Plant, Westlake, Louisiana (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, Lake Charles South EDC/VCM Plant, Westlake, Louisiana (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Compounds LLC, PVC Compounding Plant, Prairie, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)

Safety Performance Award
This award recognizes efforts to improve worker safety based upon federal OSHA recordable incidents, which are defined as an occupational injury or illness resulting in medical treatment. This award, which recognizes plants with no recordable incidents for the reporting year, was presented to:

• Eastman Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Chestertown, Maryland
• Eastman Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Texas City, Texas
• ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, EDC/VCM Plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Compounding Plant, Point Comfort, Texas
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Geon Performance Solutions, PVC Compounding Plant, Pasadena, Texas
• Geon Performance Solutions, PVC Compounding Plant, St. Remi, Quebec
• K-Bin Inc., PVC Compounding Plant, Freeport, Texas
• Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc., PVC Plant, Louisville, Kentucky
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC-only Plant, Convent, Louisiana
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC-only Plant, Geismar, Louisiana
• OxyChem, EDC/VCM Plant, Ingleside, Texas
• OxyVinyls, LP, PVC Plant, Pasadena, Texas
• OxyVinyls, LP, PVC Plant, Pedricktown, New Jersey
• Shintech Inc., PVC Plant, Freeport, Texas
• Shintech Louisiana, LLC, PVC Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Teknor Apex Company, PVC Compounding Plant, Jamestown, North Carolina
• Teknor Apex Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Brownsville, Tennessee
• Westlake Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Compounding Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Plant, Calvert City, Kentucky
• Westlake Chemical Company, EDC/VCM Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical Company, Lake Charles North EDC/VCM Plant, Westlake, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical Company, Lake Charles South EDC-only Plant, Westlake, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical Company, Lake Charles South EDC/VCM Plant, Westlake, Louisiana
• Westlake Compounds LLC, PVC Compounding Plant, Madison, Mississippi
• Westlake Compounds LLC, PVC Compounding Plant, Prairie, Mississippi

Environmental Excellence Award
This award is based on the outstanding track record of performance for five or more consecutive years under EPA’s NESHAPs, and other environmental permit requirements. The following facilities demonstrated continued outstanding performance in 2020:

• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Compounding Plant, Point Comfort, Texas (10 consecutive years of performance)
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC-only Plant, Convent, Louisiana (9 consecutive years of performance)
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, EDC-only Plant, Point Comfort, Texas (9 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, PVC Compounding Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (8 consecutive years of performance)
• Geon Performance Solutions, PVC Compounding Plant, Avon Lake, Ohio (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Geon Performance Solutions, PVC Compounding Plant, Pasadena, Texas (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Geon Performance Solutions, PVC Compounding Plant, Terre Haute, Indiana (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc., CPVC Compounding Plant, Louisville, Kentucky (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Vestolit, USA, PVC Plant, Pedricktown, New Jersey (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Teknor Apex Company, PVC Compounding Plant, Fountain Inn, South Carolina (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing Plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (8 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Compounds LLC, PVC Compounding Plant, Madison, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)

Environmental Honor Award
The criteria for this award includes emissions reduction under the NEHSAP, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for air and water. This award is presented to two plants, one in the PVC category and one in the EDC/VCM category. The facilities achieving this award for performance during 2020 were:

• EDC/VCM category: OxyChem, EDC/VCM Plant, Ingleside, Texas
• PVC category: Vestolit, USA, PVC Plant, Pedricktown, New Jersey

2021 Lifetime Achievement Award
In addition to the Health, Safety and Environmental Awards, the VI bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award to an outstanding individual at Vinyl360. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes outstanding service to the vinyl industry during a person’s career. This year’s recipient is Richard Mason, Advisor to the President of Shintech Incorporated, for his lifelong commitment to innovation and growth of the U.S. vinyl industry.
2021 Industry Partner of the Year Award
VI recognized Dean Thompson, President and CEO of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, and Stan Graveline, Senior Vice President of Technical Service for Sika Corporation, as Industry Partners of the Year, for their continued contributions to the PVC, flooring, and roofing industries, and advocacy for fair standards and regulations for industry members.
About the Vinyl Institute:
The Vinyl Institute (VI), founded in 1982, is a U.S. trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl additives, and modifiers. The VI works on behalf of its members to promote the benefits of the world’s most versatile plastic, used to make everything from PVC piping to flooring, roofing and vinyl siding. The vinyl industry in the United States employs over 350,000 highly skilled employees at nearly 3,000 facilities and generates an economic value of $54 billion. For more information, visit vinylinfo.org.